Sex Ratios of Plants Linked to Environmental Factors

A new research from the University of Toronto found that environmental factors can transform the ratio of females to males in plant populations. The team, composed of Ivana Stehlik, Jannice Friedman, and University Professor Spencer Barrett used genetic markers (known DNA sequences) to identify the sex of seeds. They investigated six natural populations of the wind-pollinated herb Rumex nivalis in the Swiss Alps and mapped the distance between females and neighboring males. They then measured the amount of pollen captured by female flowers and collected seeds from the plants when they were mature.

Barrett and his team found a strongly female-biased flowering sex ratios in these populations. When there were more males surrounding females, females captured more pollen, matured more seed and produced more strongly female-biased offspring. The authors suggest that when females capture large amounts of pollen, female-determining pollen tubes out compete male-determining pollen tubes to fertilize the single ovule in each flower, resulting to the observed female to male ratio.

To read more, visit http://www.news.utoronto.ca/science-and-technology/u-of-t-discovers-environmental-factors-linked-to-sex-ratios-of-plants.html.